Pâtisserie Sans Frontières

Creamy caramel mousse for entremets

This is a light caramel mousse made by combining a caramel base with whipped cream. There is very little gelatine, just enough to set it lightly, so you can better taste the caramel and the texture is light, moussy and creamy. Once you get the hang of working with gelatine it’s pretty easy and fast to make mousses but you should look out for a few things.

Tips

The main thing is to make sure the temperatures of the caramel base and gelatine are around 30°C/ 86°F and don’t allow the gelatine to set before combining – if the gelatine’s too cold you’ll get glooey lumps but too warm and it will melt the cream.

Also, don’t overmix when you’re folding at the end or the mousse will flatten.

Like most pàtisserie it’s not that complex if you just pay attention, follow the recipe and be precise. Then with practice you’ll find you start doing it all fast and naturally.

Whisk the remaining cream in a big bowl until almost soft peak and place in the fridge.

Heat the 1/2 cup of cream on a low-medium heat till just boiling.

Take off the heat immediately. Squeeze out the water from the gelatine and whisk into the cream until it dissolves.

Pour into a clean bowl and allow to cool till it reaches a temperature of around 30°C/ 86°F (feels neither hot nor cold to your little finger). Check with a sugar thermometre. Whisk the cream occasionally so that the gelatine doesn’t set firm or form lumps.

Check your caramel is also at around 30°C/ 86°F. If not then cool in the fridge or reheat a little on a bain marie, as needed.

When the cream/gelatine and caramel are at the right temperature, take the whipped cream out of the fridge and whisk to soft peak.

Stir the cream/gelatine and caramel together with a whisk to combine.

With the whisk slowly fold a little whipped cream into the caramel/gelatine/cream mixture to lighten it.

Then with a rubber or silicone spatula fold the mixture into the remaining whipped cream in the big bowl. Do not overmix. Do this gently. Only whisk very lightly for a few seconds if it looks like there are lumps forming anywhere.

Immediately pour your mousse into your moulds and set in the freezer from 4 hours or overnight. They’ll also keep for up to 2 weeks or more (just unmould and store in airtight tupperware in the freezer).

Lovely stuff you guys made from the blog!

Lovely brioche rolls made by Annette in New Zealand! ‘They turned out really well thanks, my boys certainly enjoyed them, all gone now!’ she reports. But be careful – she noticed that if you don’t use invert sugar or honey but just caster sugar, you’ll need to add a little extra water.

A stunning Gâteau Moka by Kate in Cornwall. The piping is wonderful and she was very pleased with it. She also mentions the cake was delish! :)

A beautiful orange and rum fruitcake-cake Anglais fruitcake made by Dookes! Looks moist and delicious! Dookes’ comments: ‘seriously good!’ and ‘fantastico’!! You can find the guest post recipe at http://wp.me/p2sQo3-US And Dookes’ cake report is at https://hogriderdookes.wordpress.com/2015/03/18/lilis-biker-cake-made-and-tasted/ on his Hogrider Dookes blog.

A fabulous Raspberry charlotte by Kate! Loads of raspberries and great sponge finger casing! The assembly part was actually really easy! and ‘it tasted amazing’ she says, adding it ‘will definitely become a regular pudding in our household!’

A delicious seed and nut loaf made by Claudette in London. She reports ‘cannot stop eating it … it is really delicious’ And she used more pumpkin than sunflower seeds and a little chestnut flour too.

Extremely tasty-looking Lamingtons by Annette in New Zealand. Lovely and moist even without cream inside, she reports. So tempting piled up on that pretty plate. Yum!

Yummy wholemeal spelt croissants by Dookes. Very well-shaped and nicely risen too! ‘For a first attempt I have to say I’m pretty pleased. They certainly pass the taste test’ says Dookes.

Scrumptious orange & rum fruitcake-cake Anglais by Stéphanie in Tahiti ‘This cake is just delicious :) I brought one in the office today and it just vanished in a few minutes! Every one loved it :)’ she reports. Lovely local rum, vanilla, honey!

A fantastic slice of Apple tarte tatin with Chinese 5 spices and Tamarind by Claudette, aka mum! :) It was very nice and using maple syrup is ‘genius’ she reports. The Pink Lady apples used were ‘lovely, juicy and firm’ and cooked on the ring a little over 10 mins. Plus the pastry browned quite quickly so was covered with foil towards the end.

What I made at the Cordon Bleu in Paris

Dark chocolates – truffles and almond paste chocolates

Passion fruit and raspberry tart

Pear Charlotte

Gateau Moka

Baba au rhum – rum baba

Pithiviers

Gateau Basque

Raspberry and anis macarons

Triomphe aux noix – caramel walnut mousse cake

Viennoiserie – croissants, brioches, pains au chocolat

Éclairs and chouquettes

Douceur chocolat – Heavenly chocolate cake

Gateau Mogador

Opera cake

Batons de marechaux and palets aux raisins

Plating a rapsberry and anis macaron with raspberry coulis and anis cream